Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were given rituximab induction therapy and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) maintenance therapy. RTX was indicated for refractory and relapsing SLE. Several investigations done before and after RTX treatment and in the last follow up (done one year after starting Rituximab). Those included protein in urine, serum creatinine, double stranded DNA, C3, C4, and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Proteinuria decreased significantly after RTX treatment and in the last measurement (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). Serum creatinine significantly decreased only in the last measurement (P=0.02). Double stranded DNA decreased remarkably after treatment (P=0.01) with a further decrease in the last measurement (P=0.006). C3 and C4 increased after treatment but the increase was significant only for C3 (P=0.002) and this increase continues till the last measurement (P=0.0006). Active urine sediments found in fifteen patients and disappeared after RTX treatment. Rituximab can be promising in treating lupus nephritis when used along with traditional immunosuppressants. It can reduce disease activity and improve renal function in such patients.
Preparation of superposed thin film (CdTe)1-xSex / ZnS) with concentration of (x= 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) at a temperature of substrate (Ts= 80 0C) by using Thermal Vacuum Evaporation System. The measurement of X-ray diffraction shows that the compounds CdTe, ZnS, (CdTe)1-xSex and (CdTe)1-xSex / ZnS have a polycrystalline structure, the C-V characteristic shows that the capacitance degrease by increasing the concentration (x) in reverse bias, while the I-V characteristic shows the current dark (Id) increase in forward and reverse bias by increasing (x) and the photocurrent (Iph) increase in reverse bias by increasing the concentration (x), the values of photocurrent are greater than from the values of the dark current for all concentrations
... Show MoreA phytoremediation experiment was carried out with kerosene as a model for total petroleum hydrocarbons. A constructed wetland of barley was exposed to kerosene pollutants at varying concentrations (1, 2, and 3% v/v) in a subsurface flow (SSF) system. After a period of 42 days of exposure, it was found that the average ability to eliminate kerosene ranged from 56.5% to 61.2%, with the highest removal obtained at a kerosene concentration of 1% v/v. The analysis of kerosene at varying initial concentrations allowed the kinetics of kerosene to be fitted with the Grau model, which was closer than that with the zero order, first order, or second order kinetic models. The experimental study showed that the barley plant designed in a subsu
... Show MoreIn this work ,pure and doped(CdO)thin films with different concentration of V2O5x (0.0, 0.05, 0.1 ) wt.% have been prepared on glass substrate at room temperature using Pulse Laser Deposition technique(PLD).The focused Nd:YAG laser beam at 800 mJ with a frequency second radiation at 1064 nm (pulse width 9 ns) repetition frequency (6 Hz), for 500 laser pulses incident on the target surface At first ,The pellets of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x at different V2O5 contents were sintered to a temperature of 773K for one hours.Then films of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x have been prepared.The structure of the thin films was examined by using (XRD) analysis..Hall effect has been measured in orded to know the type of conductivity, Finally the solar cell and the effici
... Show MoreThe doping process with materials related to carbon has become a newly emerged approach for achieving an improvement in different physical properties for the obtained doped films. Thin films of CuPc: C60 with doping ratio of (100:1) were spin-coated onto pre-cleaned glass substrates at room temperature. The prepared films were annealed at different temperatures of (373, 423 and 473) K. The structural studies, using a specific diffractometry of annealed and as deposited samples showed a polymorphism structure and dominated by CuPc with preferential orientation of the plane (100) of (2θ = 7) except at temperature of 423K which indicated a small peak around (2θ = 3
Abstract
The research aims to measure the level of critical thinking skills among students of A’Sharqiah University in the Sultanate of Oman, as well as identify the level of their availability based on the variables: gender, academic level, school year, cumulative average, and general diploma / high school ratio. The researchers used the descriptive approach. To achieve the objectives of the study, they used The California Test for Critical Thinking Skills Picture (A) after evaluation (Farraj, 2006). It was applied to a sample of (487) students from A’sharqiah University. The results of the study found that the critical thinking skills of A’sharqiah University students are below the educationally acceptabl
... Show MoreAbstract
The increasing of some traded Agricultural crops prices coincide with the increasing of crude oil prices in global market since the beginning of 21st century which indicate the possibility of short run and long run causality relation between the imported economic variables. The study aims to analysis the causality effects between some of Agricultural crops prices imported by Iraq and the prices of crude oil and Iraq dinar exchange rate in global markets for period (2004:1 -2016:4) theory for developing the adequate price and economic police for Iraqi economic sector. The results show the existence of short- run and long- run between the eco
... Show MoreNew complexes of the type [ML2(H2O)2] ,[FeL2(H2O)Cl] and [VOL2] were M=Co(II),Ni(II) and Cu(II) ,L=4-(2-methyl-4-oxoquinazoline-3(4H)-yl) benzoic acid were synthesized and characterized by element analysis, magnetic susceptibility ,molar conductance ,FT-IR and UV-visible. The studies indicate that the L acts as doubly monodentate bridge for metal ions and form mononuclear complexes. The complexes are found to be octahedral except V(IV) complex is square pyrimde shape . The structural geometries of compounds were also suggested in gas phase by theoretical treatments, using Hyper chem-6 program for the molecular mechanics and semi-empirical calculations, addition heat of formation(?Hf ?) and binding energy (?Eb)for the free ligan
... Show MoreThis research aimed to identify the structural model of the relationship between emotional creativity and self-efficacy among male and female students of the preparatory year at Tabuk University. The current study adopted the descriptive correlational approach, as it is appropriate to the nature of the study. The study tools contained (60) items that measure the relationship between emotional creativity and self-efficacy among the male and female students of the preparatory year at Tabuk University. The study sample was chosen by the stratified random method of the study community, where the study sample reached (183) male and female students of the preparatory year at the University of Tabuk. The results of the study showed that there a
... Show MoreThe removal of congo red (CR) is a critical issue in contemporary textile industry wastewater treatment. The current study introduces a combined electrochemical process of electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) to address the elimination of this dye. Moreover, it discusses the formation of a triple composite of Co, Mn, and Ni oxides by depositing fixed salt ratios (1:1:1) of these oxides in an electrolysis cell at a constant current density of 25 mA/cm2. The deposition ended within 3 hours at room temperature. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) characterized the structural and surface morphology of the multi-oxide sedim
... Show More